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After losing in the semifinals of the Nassau County championships, the Schreiber girls lacrosse team is eager to get back on the field this season. The girls started off with high hopes. Port suffered four close losses against Garden City, Farmingdale, North Shore, and Cold Spring Harbor at the start of the season, but they remain optimistic about their upcoming games. Many of these matches were incredibly close games that simply didn’t go the right way for the team.

On March 28, in their game against North Shore, Port lost 11-12 after their opponents netted the final goal in late in overtime. Senior Lily Avazis led the way for the team scoring three goals while junior Ali Hoffman added a goal and two assists.

The girls aren’t letting their recent losses get them down, and they know how important it is to keep playing their best. Their main goal was to fix their play so they could make their way back up to the top of the conference.

“All of those game were really close. We just lost them towards the end,” said junior Rebecca Rosen. “We worked hard in practice to fix what we were doing wrong and we have been playing much better because of it.”

Playing better is exactly what Port is doing as of late. After getting off to an 0-4 start, the Lady Vikings rebounded and won the next four matchups including victories against Manhasset, Oceanside, Lynbrook, and Plainedge.

The first of the girls’ wins came April 4 against Manhasset. Port overpowered Manhasset, their conference rivals, ultimately winning the game 12-9. Again, Hoffman was one of the main playmakers, recording three goals with two assists. Senior Rachel Rosen led the way for the team, scoring four goals with three assists. Senior goaltender Claudia Hanover also recorded 11 saves during the game.

“Getting that first win meant a lot to us,” said junior Jenny Valenti. “It really made us play with a lot more confidence going forward.”

Later that week, the Vikings faced off against Oceanside on April 8. Port again came out on top winning 12-9. Hoffman again led the way, along with sophomore Michaela Gearty; both girls scored five goals.

During spring break, the girls sacrificed much of their vacation time in order to hone their technique and continue to work their way up the conference ladder. They ended up practicing for hours on end and played two games during the break, which took commitment and dedication from all team members.

“We always work hard during practice but during break we really tried to focus even more,” said Rachel Rosen. “We were in the middle of a really good winning stretch and we wanted to keep getting the results we wanted.”

The hard work paid off for Port, as they won their next two games, finishing off their four game win streak. On April 10 against Lynbrook, the team blew away their opposition, winning 15-7. Avazis scored an impressive four goals and two assists that day, while Hoffman and Rachel Rosen each had two goals and four assists to continue their great play.

Next up for the Vikings was Plainedge on April 12. The Vikings won the game 13-5, with many players contributing to the win. Rachel Rosen led the way with a goal and five assists, senior Maddy Connors recorded two goals and two assists, and Rebecca Rosen had two goals and one assist.

This was certainly a very high point for Port this season. The team knows their strengths, and they hope to achieve great things later in the year during the playoffs. As they get into the later half of their season, it will be even more important for the girls to keep their morale up.

“This stretch really showed us that we can really compete with any team in the county,” said Rebecca Rosen. “Now we know what we have to do to win and we are all really looking forward to the playoffs to show what we can do.”

After their matchup against Plainedge, the Vikings were put to the test against conference rival Massapequa. Port was out to seek revenge for the loss they suffered at last year’s playoffs. On April 19, Port finally got the rematch they had been waiting for but they were not able to recover from a slow start to the game.

After being outscored 5-10 in the first half, it was too much for the team to overcome with the final score being 9-13.

With three games left on their schedule, Port will look to close out the regular season on a good note in order to get the highest possible seed for the playoffs. All eyes will be on this team going forward as they attempt to get back to being one of Nassau’s most elite teams.